MOSCOW, Jan. 23 (Xinhua) -- Cuban leader Raul Castro will pay a visit to Moscow later this month and the official events will be held on Jan. 30, Russian Deputy Prime Minister Igor Sechin said Friday.

    Sechin described the Cuban leader's upcoming visit as "historic" and said the exact details of the schedule were still being worked out.

    The deputy prime minister said both Russia and Cuba had changed a lot over the years.

    "Cuba has managed to overcome a tough embargo ... and became a regional leader. Substantial changes have also taken place in Russia," Sechin was quoted by the RIA Novosti news agency as saying.

    Russia and Cuba are considering joint projects in fields like fishing and transportation, Sechin said, adding that the two countries "have a serious basis for stepping up their cooperation."

    Russian President Dmitry Medvedev visited Cuba during a tour of Latin American countries last November. In Cuba, Medvedev met with Raul Castro and his brother Fidel Castro and pledged to further political and economic ties with the traditional partner in the Caribbean Sea.